More Arizona Illustrated Nature and Environment Stories

The Growing Class

Experienced farmers and their novice neighbors are taking classes about different agricultural topics such as soil, small animals, marketing and production.

Pima Prickly Park

There are many undiscovered or little-known places in southern Arizona and Pima Prickly Park is one of them.

A Passion for Plants

Tucson resident Mark Dimmitt is obsessed with rare plants and he’s also one of the world’s experts on adeniums, the so-called “desert rose” which he has been propagating for years.

Leaving a Legacy of Land

UA professor and plant pathologist Martha C. Hawes, PhD is preparing a legacy for all of Pima County: She and her late husband Hans VanEtten, are donating their residence and 65-acre parcel of land to expand Tucson Mountain Park.

Urban Farmers

Sustainability, locally sourced, farm to fork, water harvesting… all of these are coming together in some “typical backyards” where a growing number of people are turning residential lots into productive mini-farms.

Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua National Monument south east of Tucson is an imposing landscape that encompasses nearly 12,000 acres and is home to various natural and historical attractions.

The Mysterious Crested Saguaro

The Mysterious Crested Saguaro takes an in-depth look into this extremely rare mutation of the saguaro cactus.

Planting Trees

The city of Tucson has had a long and active Trees for Tucson program (Part of Tucson Clean and Beautiful) which has been working in the community since the 1980s.

The Lowland Leopard Frog

We speak to UA student Emily Huddleston about her journalistic work with the lowland leopard frog and the threats it faces in southern Arizona, including the invasive and aggressive American bullfrog.

SciView Video Essay: Gray Hawks - Kalyn Miller

A University of Arizona student fascination with a new species in Southern Arizona…the Gray Hawk.

SciView Video Essay: Homopterus and Their Odd Antennae - Angela Hoover

A University of Arizona Masters Graduate Student’s fascination with the role of a parasitic beetle’s fern shaped antennae.

SciView Video Essay: Flight to Light Moths - John Palting

A University of Arizona Graduate Student’s nocturnal study of Moths…hundreds and hundreds of Moths.

Urban Harvest

The University of Arizona’s LEAF program- Linking Edible Arizona Forests – estimates the main campus has about about 8,000 mature trees of which nearly 25% have edible qualities such as fruit, seeds or nuts.

Farming Poultry

Top Knot Farms was founded by brothers, Luke and Michael Muthart. They are native Tucsonans who’ve been providing fresh, pasture-raised poultry to southern Arizona since Fall 2013.

Picacho Peak

Picacho Peak is one of the most recognizable landmarks in southern Arizona with its unmistakable shape and height along a valley between Tucson and Phoenix.

Catalina Highway

It is said you can experience a journey from Mexico to Canada by taking the Catalina Highway from Tucson to Summerhaven on top of Mt. Lemmon.

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